Questions for discussion
Episode 15
7th June 2016
What is an Electorate?
1. At election time, people vote for the ______________ who are running in
their________________
2. What is an electorate?
3. How many federal electorates are there in Australia?
4. How many square kilometres does the electorate of Grayndler cover?
5. Which is the largest electorate in Australia? How many square kilometres does it cover?
6. How are electorates worked out?
7. Who are electorates named after?
8. What is a safe seat?
9. Why do politicians spend a lot of time campaigning in marginal seats?
10. What do you understand more clearly since watching the BtN story?
Check out the Electorates resource on the Teachers page
Violent Toys
1.
2.
3.
4.
Discuss the Violent Toys story as a class. Record the main issues raised in the discussion.
What did a recent study find about Lego?
How many years has Lego been around?
Which country did Lego come from?
a. Sweden
b. Norway
c. Denmark
5. How has Lego changed over the years?
6. A recent study found ________ of all Lego kits contain weapons.
7. What did researchers say about other toys, video games, TV shows and movies?
8. Create a T chart that outlines the arguments for and against kids playing with toy weapons.
9. Do you think playing with toy weapons leads to violent behaviour? Why or why not?
10. Hold a class debate. Develop arguments for and against the issue.
Vote in the Behind the News online poll.
Indigenous Veterans
1.
2.
3.
4.
What was the main point of the Indigenous Veterans story?
Describe the book the school kids have written.
How did the students research the book?
Were Indigenous people recognised for their service in wars?
©ABC 2016
5. Complete the following sentence: During WWI ____________________ weren’t allowed to
sign up for the military.
6. About how many Indigenous people served in World War One?
7. Why was a ceremony held for Indigenous veterans recently?
8. How did the school kids help out at the ceremony?
9. What feedback did the students get about their project?
10. In your own words describe the role Indigenous Australians have played in wars.
Check out the Indigenous Veterans resource on the Teachers page
Bionic Boy
1. Discuss the Bionic Boy story with another student.
2. What disease was Riley born with?
3. What does Riley use to speak?
4. Which part of Riley’s body can he control?
5. What does Riley say is the hardest thing for him?
6. What has Jordan created to help Riley?
7. Describe what Riley can do using the new technology.
8. Which piece of technology has Riley always dreamed of controlling?
9. Explain how Riley will control the car.
10. How did this story make you feel?
Write a message about the story and post it in the comments section on the story page.
Women’s Rugby
1. Briefly summarise the Women’s Rugby story.
2. Which competition did the Women’s Rugby Sevens win recently?
3. What is the name of the team?
4. How did Ellia get into the sport?
5. Apart from playing rugby, what does Ellia like to do?
6. How is Rugby Sevens similar to Rugby Union?
7. What are the differences?
8. Which big sporting event is the team preparing for?
9. In which year was Rugby Sevens included in the Olympics?
10. What was surprising about this story?
Do the quiz on the BtN website.
©ABC 2016
Teacher Resource
Episode 15
th
7 June 2016
Electorates
1. At election time, people vote for the ______________ who are
running in their________________
2. What is an electorate?
3. How many federal electorates are there in Australia?
4. How many square kilometres does the electorate of Grayndler
cover?
5. Which is the largest electorate in Australia? How many square
kilometres does it cover?
6. How are electorates worked out?
7. Who are electorates named after?
8. What is a safe seat?
9. Why do politicians spend a lot of time campaigning in marginal
seats?
10. What do you understand more clearly since watching the BtN
story?
Class glossary
Create your own classroom glossary about electorates. Start by
brainstorming words as a class using a mind map to record your
responses. Add to your list of words by downloading the BtN Electorates
story transcript and highlighting all the words that relate to voting. Find
definitions for each word. Create your own classroom glossary of words
with explanations.

Electorate

Seat

Safe Seat

Marginal Seat

Division

Candidate

House of Representatives

Senate

Redistribution
Refer to the Australian Electoral Commission Glossary for meanings and
sentence examples. http://www.aec.gov.au/footer/Glossary.htm
©ABC 2016
Students will develop a deeper
understanding of the electorate they live in
and what safe and marginal seats are.
Civics and Citizenship – Year 5
The key features of the Australian electoral
process (ACHCK024)
Use and evaluate a range of information to
develop a point of view (ACHCS030)
The roles and responsibilities of electors
and representatives in Australia’s
democracy (ACHCK023)
Civics and Citizenship – Year 6
Develop questions and gather a range of
information to investigate the society in
which they live (ACHCS040)
Present civics and citizenship ideas and
viewpoints for a particular purpose
using civics and citizenship terms and
concepts (ACHCS045)
Reflect on personal roles and actions as
a citizen in the school and in the
community (ACHCS046)
Facts about electorates
Students clarify what they know about electorates. Working in pairs, students research the following
questions then display the information as a poster, infographic or using Prezi. Encourage students to
develop their own questions about electorates.










Electorates are also called...
How many members are elected to the House of Representatives?
How many Senators represent each state and territory?
About how many people live in an electorate?
About how many voters live in an electorate?
How are electorates named?
Which is the smallest electorate in Australia? How many square kilometres is it?
Which is the largest? How many square kilometres is it?
How many people are enrolled to vote in their state? How does it compare to other states?
How is the election of a Senator different to that of a Member of the House of Representatives?
My electorate
Students will find out more about the electorate they
live in or that their school is located in.
 Go to the Australian Electoral Commission
website to find your electorate.
 Find more information on the electorate that
your home or school is situated. On a map
locate your home or school and draw the
boundary of your electorate.
 What is the name of your electorate?
 How did your electorate get its name?
 Create a profile on your local Member of
Parliament, using this template.
o Who is the current member for this
electorate?
o What political party do they represent?
o Can you find out who else is ‘running’
for this electorate?
o Is it a safe or marginal seat?
o Research a former Member for your
electorate and prepare a short oral
presentation about them.
©ABC 2016
Safe and Marginal Seats
Students will investigate in more detail what safe and marginal seats are. Watch the BtN story Marginal
Seats and answer the following questions:
1. How many electorates are there in Australia?
2. Complete this sentence. Each electorate has its
own seat in _______________.
3. Name one major Australian political party.
4. What is the difference between a safe seat and a
marginal seat?
5. Why are some seats safe and some marginal?
6. How might a marginal seat affect the result of an
election?
7. What do you understand more clearly since
watching the Marginal Seats story?
8. Is your home or school in a safe or marginal seat? How long has the Member held the seat in your
electorate?
Becoming a Candidate
Have you ever wondered how you become a political candidate? Watch the BtN story Becoming a Candidate
to find out more.
1. At what age can Australians vote in a
Federal Election?
2. Describe some of things that Chandy and
Liah do to help with their political
campaigning?
3. You get paid if you are a candidate. True or
false?
4. Can anyone become a candidate?
5. How do you become a candidate? List at
least three requirements.
6. Approximately how much does it cost to
become a candidate in Australia?
7. Which one of these isn’t a political party?
a. Liberal Party of Australia
b. Australian Blues
c. Australian Labor Party
8. If you don’t want to join a party you can run as an ______________.
9. Would you like to be a political candidate? Why or why not?
10. Compare and contrast the three major Australian political parties.
©ABC 2016
Imagine you are a politician running for your local federal electorate.





What issues are important to you? Some topics to consider include school community,
sustainability and the environment, sport, bullying etc.
What makes a good leader? What are your values?
Prepare a 2 minute speech to present to the community and convince voters to elect you to
parliament.
Design a poster for your election campaign
Consider becoming a school representative on your SRC or School Parliament. For more
information on SRCs visit this website.
Behind the News – What is Democracy?
http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s4460249.htm
Behind the News – History of Voting
http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s4464749.htm
Behind the News – State Laws
http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3875892.htm
Queensland Parliament – Everyone’s Parliament: Three Levels of Government
https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/explore/education/factsheets/Factsheet_1.1_ThreeLevelsOfG
ovt.pdf
Parliamentary Education Office – Snapshots – Three Levels of Government
http://www.peo.gov.au/multimedia/videos/snapshots-three-levels-of-government.html
Australian Electoral Commission – Three Levels of Government
http://education.aec.gov.au/teacher-resources/three-levels.html
©ABC 2016
Teacher Resource
Episode 15
th
7 June 2016
Indigenous Veterans
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
What was the main point of the Indigenous Veterans story?
Describe the book the school kids have written.
How did the students research the book?
Were Indigenous people recognised for their service in wars?
Complete the following sentence: During WWI
____________________ weren’t allowed to sign up for the
military.
About how many Indigenous people served in World War One?
Why was a ceremony held for Indigenous veterans recently?
How did the school kids help out at the ceremony?
What feedback did the students get about their project?
In your own words describe the role Indigenous Australians
have played in wars.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers please note that
this document contains photographs of deceased Indigenous exservicemen.
Discuss the BtN Indigenous Veterans story as a class. What do you
THINK about what you saw in this video? What does this video make
you WONDER?
 Think of three questions you would like to ask the kids in the
BtN Indigenous Veterans story.
 How did the story make you feel? Write a personal response to
the story. Leave a comment on the BtN Indigenous Veterans
story page.
Glossary
Create your own classroom glossary about Indigenous Australians’
service in the military. Start by brainstorming words as a class using a
mind map to record your responses and then find definitions for each
word.
 Enlist
 ANZAC
 Gallipoli
 Veteran
 Citizen
©ABC 2016
Students will develop a deeper
understanding of Indigenous Australians’
contribution to the military.
History – Year 6
The contribution of individuals and groups
to the development of Australian society
since Federation (ACHASSK137)
Experiences of Australian democracy and
citizenship, including the status and rights
of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Peoples, migrants, women and
children (ACHASSK135)
HASS – Years 5 & 6
Sequence information about people’s lives,
events, developments and phenomena
using a variety of methods including
timelines (ACHASSI097) (ACHASSI125)
Develop appropriate questions to guide an
inquiry about people, events,
developments, places, systems and
challenges (ACHASSI094) (ACHASSI122)
Indigenous Service
Students will find out more about Indigenous Australians’ service in
the military. Encourage them to develop their own questions about
the topic. Here are some questions to help guide their research:
 Why did Indigenous people enlist in the war?
 Which wars did they serve in?
 What rights did Indigenous people have during WWI? For
example, could they vote and were they included in the
census?
 What entitlements did they have when they returned from
war?
 What do you think life would be liked for Indigenous
Australians who served in the war?
 How has the contribution made by Indigenous servicemen
and servicewomen been recognised?
Discuss with students ways to display the information. These could include:
o A postcard written from the perspective of the soldier to their family explaining what life was like at
war. Include photography, drawings or maps to decorate the front of the postcard.
o Create a simple website using weebly to present the research.
o Create a timeline showing Indigenous Australians’ involvement in the military.
Biography Organiser
Students will explore personal stories of Indigenous soldiers who
served in the war. The Australian War Memorial website has a
number of case studies of Indigenous soldiers who served in
WWI for students to choose from. Students can use the
Biography Organiser template to structure their biographical
information on their chosen soldier.
Some possible research questions include:
 Where was the soldier from? Locate using Google Maps
 When were they born?
 In which war did they serve?
 What was their role?
 What were their challenges?
 How were their achievements recognised?
 What was life like for Indigenous Australians during this
period?
Present your findings in an interesting way.
 Give a presentation on your soldier
 Create a portrait
 Design a poster
 Make a “Did you know?” for other students
 Write a letter thanking them for their service
 Create a timeline highlighting significant events
©ABC 2016
Ask students to watch the BtN Indigenous Anzacs story to gain a deeper understanding of why Indigenous
people enlisted in the military.
1. How old was Rufus when he joined the
war?
2. What did Jake’s great, great Uncle
Rufus have to do to become an
Australian soldier?
3. Indigenous Australians weren’t even
considered citizens of their own
country. Discuss as a class what this
statement means.
4. Approximately how many Indigenous
Australian men were enlisted in the
First World War?
a. 80
b. 800
c. 8,000
5. How were Indigenous Australians treated by their fellow soldiers?
6. What did Donna discover when researching her history project on Ngarrindjeri ANZACs?
7. How did Donna and Jake’s cousin Victor say goodbye to Rufus in a traditional way?
8. What role have Indigenous Australians played in wars?
Behind the News – Indigenous Anzacs
http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3744556.htm
Australian War Memorial – Indigenous Australian Serviceman
https://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/aborigines/indigenous/
Australian War Memorial - Indigenous Service in Australia’s armed forces in peace and war – overview
https://www.awm.gov.au/indigenous-service/report-executive-summary/
Australian War Memorial – Anzac Diversity
https://www.awm.gov.au/education/schools/resources/anzac-diversity/?ancestry=All
Australian Defence Force – ADF Indigenous
http://www.defencejobs.gov.au/campaigns/indigenous/aProudHistory.aspx
©ABC 2016
BtN: Episode 15 Transcript 7/06/16
Hello, I'm Nathan Bazley. Welcome to BtN!
Coming up today:
 We find out what electorates are and how they'll fit into this year's election.
 Are weapons a worry when it comes to toys?
 And meet one of the characters in our latest world champion team.
You will see all that and more soon. But first, let's find out what stories have got people
talking this week.
This Week in News
Huge parts of the East coast of Australia have been battered by deadly storms over the
past few days. Flood waters damaged homes, shops and roads in New South Wales,
Victoria and Tasmania while huge waves have forced some people to evacuate from the
coastline.
One of the world's greatest boxers Muhammad Ali died over the weekend. He was a
three-time world heavyweight champion known for his fancy footwork and his smack talk!
ALI: I'm gonna float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. His hands can't hit what his eyes
can't see.
But out of the ring he was a big campaigner for civil rights and in the 1960s he spoke out
against the way black people were being treated.
Since his death many have paid tribute to the legend
“I think he's a hero, yes ma'am I most certainly do.”
We have now officially reached the halfway point of this year's federal election campaign.
©ABC 2016
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull got a bit of a talking to from tropical fish Nemo in
Adelaide.
And while there he announced he'd spend 24 million dollars on training scholarships for
students in SA.
Meanwhile Labor leader Bill Shorten announced he'll put three billion dollars towards
making childcare cheaper for some parents.
And one kid in China really needs to learn how to look and not touch! He wrecked this 20
thousand dollar 1.8 metre tall Lego sculpture of Nick Wilde from Zootopia when he
accidentally pushed it over a few hours after it went on display.
It took the artist 3 days to make and he was pretty devastated but he forgave the kid
because, well, accidents happen.
Electorates
Reporter: Emma Davis
INTRO: Okay back to the election and by now you might have noticed that politicians
spend more time campaigning in some areas than others. You might even have heard
reporters call those areas by special names like Mayo or Dobell or Hasluck. They're
electorates but what do they have to do with an election? Take a look.
Ok so you might have noticed it's election time. You've seen the posters everywhere and
all the ads on TV?
GIRL: Oh yeah!
So who would you vote for if you could?
GIRL: Well I suppose I'd choose between the leaders of the two major parties.
But if you look at a voting slip, you won't find both of the leader's names there.
GIRL: Why?
Well for the House of Representatives we only vote for the politicians who are running in
our electorate.
GIRL: What's an electorate?
I'm so glad you asked. Australia is usually divided up into states and territories. But come
election time, it's divided up a little differently! These are our 150 federal electorates. Some
of them are small, like Grayndler which only covers 32 square kilometres. While some of
©ABC 2016
them are enormous, like Durack in Western Australia. It covers 1 point 6 million square
kilometres!
GIRL: Wait, why's that one so big, it’s not fair!
Well when it comes to electorates, it's not about the size, it's about the people living in it!
Electorates are worked out based on the number of people in them. That's so everyone
gets a fair say. But populations change and people move house so every now and then
the Australian Electoral Commission has to make little changes to the boundaries to make
sure the population numbers stay about equal. That's called redistribution.
GIRL: Hang on, Solomon, Mayo, Groom, what do all these names mean?
Well every electorate has a name and there are rules about what they can be called.
They're mostly named after important Australian's who've died, former Prime Ministers or
traditional Indigenous words.
GIRL: Okay but some people seem to talk about some electorates way more than others.
Why's that?
Well let's say all these people make up one electorate and it's their job to vote for a
politician who'll represent them in parliament.
POLITICIAN: That's me!
In some electorates people will keep voting for the same politician year after year after
year. That could be because the people in this area all have similar opinions or they're
happy with the way their party's running things. That's known as a safe seat. But
sometimes it's a little trickier to tell who'll win. That could be because the people in this
electorate all have different views on the big issues or many decide they want a change.
That's called a marginal seat and politicians tend to spend a lot of time in these
electorates, trying to convince people to vote for their party because every vote can count!
GIRL: Ok, so that's the House of Reps but what's the deal in the Senate?
Well In the Senate there are no electorates at all. Senators represent their state or
territory. Each state has 12 Senate seats while the territories have 2.
GIRL: Oh yeah, that's actually pretty interesting!
Yeah! It's also really important to know because electorates are the basis for how our
whole voting system works and that's something that affects every Aussie, even you!
Election Rookie Reporter
Now for some exciting election news. During a campaign major news networks always
send a senior political correspondent out on the trail right? Well this year, BtN has decided
to do the same. But before she gets started she needs your help. Take a look.
©ABC 2016
Hello, my name is Maya and I will be your eyes and ears during this year's federal election!
I have been chosen as BtN's first ever Election Rookie Reporter and soon I'll be on the trail
asking politicians what issues matter the most to kids.
But first, I need you to tell me what they are! Head to the BtN website now to let me know
what you want to know more about this election and what you don't. You can also tell me
what questions you would like answered by the some of the most powerful people in the
country.
Thanks for your help and I can't wait to bring you all the highs and the lows of the 2016
election right here on BtN!
Violent Toys
Reporter: Nic Maher
INTRO: Next up, a new study has found Lego has become increasingly violent over its 67
year history. Researchers say more sets now include weapons or characters in war-like
situations than in the past. We'll ask you what you think about that soon but first let's take
a closer look at the issue.
KID 1: Here I have made the all amazing house of awesomeness.
KID 2: It's like a car with people on it.
KID 3: I've built a girl who is kind of stranded on an island.
For a very long time, people have been turning these tiny, colourful bricks into all sorts of
things.
KID 4: It's good for like, all ages.
KID 5: They're just squares and you can make anything out of squares, except for circles.
KID 6: I just like to use my imagination to build different things with tiny little blocks and just
create different things.
Lego first came on the scene in 1949, from the small town of Billund in Denmark. It started
out with just these simple Lego bricks but, as time passed, Lego of all shapes and sizes
started to pop up. Then, almost 30 years later, the first Lego weapons were introduced in
this castle set.
Fast forward to today and Lego is now looking a lot less innocent than it used to. A recent
study found 30% of all Lego kits contain weapons like swords, guns and lightsabers.
It also says that 40% of pages in Lego catalogues show violent or threatening behaviour.
But the researchers say it's not just Lego that's getting more violent, it's also happening
with other toys, video games, TV shows and movies too.
©ABC 2016
Some people say that's a worry because there have been studies that say that kids who
play with violent toys or games are more likely to behave aggressively. But not all experts
agree. Some say pretend violence doesn't lead to the real thing at all.
For its part, Lego says its products show a range of activities, like construction, fantasy
and conflict and all of those, are a normal part of a kid's development. But, what do you
think?
KID 5: There's so many worse things out there like comic books and like the movies and
things like, I really think Lego isn’t something people should be complaining about.
KID 3: It's not that graphic which isn't too bad, because there's nothing like blood or
anything. But as long as there's an age restriction, which there is, I think it's okay.
KID 7: As long as we’re teaching kids about how the weapons are dangerous and how
they could affect other people.
KID 8: They don’t always have to buy Lego, there’s other options and they don’t have to
buy the gun ones as well. There’s other options to the gun ones.
Poll
How do you feel about weapons as toys?
All good or not OK
To vote, just head to our website.
Indigenous Veterans
Reporter: Carl Smith
INTRO: Last week as part of Reconciliation Week, many people gathered for special
ceremonies to remember the service and sacrifice of Australia's Indigenous Veterans. We
caught up with some school kids who volunteered to help out at one of these ceremonies
after creating a book that tells the stories of Indigenous veterans from their area.
CARL SMITH, REPORTING: They’re the Indigenous men and women who fought bravely
for our country.
TALISHA: Warrant Officer Leonard Waters, first Indigenous man accepted into the Royal
Australian Air Force, served in World War 2.
CAROLINA: Private James Maynard, injured in 1918 during World War 1.
HANNAH: Charles Allie fought in the light horse brigade in World War 1.
©ABC 2016
ASHLEY: Warrant Officer John Enchong, fought in Malaya and the Korean War.
And these are the school kids helping to highlight their stories.
CAROLINA: The book is called Generations of Service and it is the stories of eight
different Indigenous families who all served in various world wars and other conflicts
ASHLEY: Everyone in our class worked on the book. We all had a family who we were
researching and writing about.
Searching through archives and talking to the veterans' relatives they helped build a
picture of each family's history.
ASHLEY: We did a lot of different research, so personally for my group I had Tara
Enchong come in and talk to us on two different occasions. A lot of other people had email
correspondence with their families, as well as looking through the national archives.
TALISHA: Yeah, it was much better than just reading out from a textbook. It was good to
like get involved and personally get to know these families was very good.
They even discovered some brand new information about the family of one of their
subjects.
CAROLINA: We interviewed Bradley Maynard who is serving in the army in Tasmania.
And we researched his family going back to World War One and we actually discovered
some family members that not even he knew about.
HANNAH: They weren't really recognised for what they had done. And they had done so
much for our country and they didn't really get the recognition they deserved.
Despite fighting for Australia for generations, Indigenous people weren't always allowed to
enlist in the military.
At the start of World War One, non-Europeans weren't allowed to sign up. But at least
1000 Indigenous people still found their way onto the frontlines overseas. Over the years
many Indigenous servicemen and women have died in conflicts too.
And that's why Indigenous Veterans Ceremonies like this one are held to commemorate
the fallen. After writing their book, these guys decided to help out at this year's ceremony
in Adelaide.
HANNAH: We're going to be ushering elders to their seats; it's going to be a different
experience because I haven't done anything like this before so I'm excited to see what it's
all about.
Many at the ceremony thanked the girls for their work on the book.
TARA ENCHONG, RAAF: I've loved working with these girls. They're such a good group
and they're our future leaders so to see them passionate about our history and wanting to
share our stories, it means a real lot to me.
©ABC 2016
And one serviceman even sent a message to them from Afghanistan!
PRIVATE ROBERT THATCHER: I'm truly honoured and proud to have been a part of your
project, and I hope you are proud of what you achieved. You didn't just create stories, you
published history.
ASHLEY & TALISHA: I think it was really inspiring that they can come together to
recognise what they've done in the past. Yeah definitely, and they can all connect with this
one thing, this one amazing thing.
Quiz
How many years ago was the beginning of World War I?
52
102
1002
The answer is: 102
Bionic Boy
Reporter: Carl Smith
INTRO: Okay next we're going to a really lovely story about how technology and
persistence can change someone's life. 13-year old Riley was born with cerebral palsy
which makes it difficult for him to do lots of everyday things. But now he can do pretty
much anything with the help of one Aussie scientist and some pretty cool tech. Take a
look.
This is Riley. He's 13, has a little sister and brother, and a dog named Tiny.
CHASE: A lot of people see Riley as different but in my eyes, he's always the way he has
been and he's just a normal brother to me.
Riley was born with cerebral palsy, so it's hard for him to do many of the things other kids
can. Just to speak he uses a special computer that tracks his eye movements because his
eyes are the only part of his body he can control well.
RILEY: The hardest thing for me is not having some independence.
But biomedical engineer Dr Jordan Nguyen has come up with a plan to help.
DR JORDAN NGUYEN: If we can get it working, you're going to be controlling technology
through your eyes. It's going to be a form of telekinesis. You know, the idea that you can,
©ABC 2016
without touching an object, be able to move an object, be able to turn on an object and be
able to control that technology. And I think that idea, it's like a superhuman power.
With the help of scientists and a team of engineers Jordan has created a device that tracks
eye movements like up, down, left and right.
Those movements will act as commands for a computer that will control lots of the things
Riley has around his home.
DR JORDAN NGUYEN: If we're able to work out which signals you're doing each time,
we're going to be able to control anything, any type of technology we can think of.
After weeks of hard work, and lots of training, Riley and Jordan are ready to test out the
new equipment.
DR JORDAN NGUYEN: First Riley's going to try turning on the light bulb.
DR JORDAN NGUYEN: There we go!
It's a massive moment, and it means Riley could soon have more control over the things
around him. But there's one more piece of technology Riley has always dreamed of
controlling.
RILEY: I want to drive a car.
DR JORDAN NGUYEN: You want to drive a car.
And Jordan and his team reckon their technology is up to the task. Riley will be able to
steer the car using the same eye commands as before. But because his eyes won't be
able to stay focused on the road a set of buzzers on his arms will let him know if he gets
close to something.
So now it's time to see if it all works!
DR JORDAN NGUYEN: So, it might not be a car but I think it's a little bit better. What do
you reckon? Yeah? Do you want to give that a go?
DR JORDAN NGUYEN: Keep it straight. Yeah! Yeah! Up, up, up. Whoo-hoo-hoo! Oh,
Riley! Oh, my God. You drove a car. Oh, my God. Oh. We got there.
RILEY: Wow. This has been the best experience of my life.
QUIZ
Which of the following body parts can't be replaced with a bionic version?
Ear
Eye
©ABC 2016
Hand
The answer is: Sorry, it's a trick question because they all can be!
SPORT
Police are investigating claims of match fixing in the NRL. They’re looking at two games
last year, both involving the Manly Sea Eagles because large sums of money were bet on
the outcome of the games. The NRL says if it's found players or officials are involved
they'll be banned from the sport for life.
Spanish tennis player Garbine Muguruza has won her first ever Grand Slam title at the
French Open. She upset world number one Serena Williams, winning the match in straight
sets. The loss means Williams will have to wait until the next Grand Slam to try and equal
Steffi Graf's record of 22 Grand Slam wins.
Meanwhile Novak Djokovic won the men’s final coming from behind to beat Andy Murray
in 4 sets. It was the Serbian's 12th Grand Slam win and his first victory at the French
Open.
These are just some of the 40 athletes training hard for a spot in the first ever refugee
team to compete at the Olympic Games. All of them have been forced to leave their home
countries but Olympic organisers want to make sure they still have a chance to compete.
All up around ten refugees will qualify for the team.
Speaking of the Olympics, Aussie tennis player Nick Kyrgios, has pulled out of the
Australian Olympic team. He says he won't be competing because he's been treated
unfairly by the Australian Olympic Committee. The committee has made a few comments
about his on-court behaviour in the past.
And around sixty people have celebrated the first day of winter by taking part in an ice
plunge at a Victorian ski resort.
“It's alright, pirates are crazy, crazy people run into freezing water. Argh!”
“Yeah it's gonna be freezing!”
“Super pumped, super terrified, it's going to be a horrible experience, hopefully I'll make it
out alive.”
©ABC 2016
Jumping into the icy water is supposed to be a good sign for the snow season ahead
which clearly makes no sense at all.
Rugby Sevens
Reporter: Nic Maher
INTRO: Finally today, the Australian Women's Rugby Sevens team made history recently
as our first national team to win the sport's World Series. Now, the team has shifted its
focus to the upcoming Olympics where Rugby Sevens will feature for the first time. Will
they take home gold? Well they're going in pretty confident.
Australia, meet your latest sporting superstars!
Ellia Green is just one member of the Pearls, Australia's new World Series-winning Rugby
Sevens' team. But strangely, she only ended up in the sport by accident. Ellia was just
giving her cousin a lift to training, when she decided to give it a crack herself.
ELLIA GREEN: I went there and thought it was really cool, because I like tackling, I'm not
afraid of the contact, I'm pretty rough with my brother, I'm not afraid to hit him, a time or
two, ha ha, so it wasn't so much the contact thing, but I was nervous about it all and
everything but there's no way I would ever picture myself in my shoes today.
REPORTER: And what can we expect from Ellia Green this time round?
ELLIA GREEN: Look, this is what you can expect from Ellia Green, you going to expect
power, speed, and you're going to expect a good time, and a laugh on the field, because
I'm here for the entertainment as well.
If Ellia ever gets sick of rugby, it's only a matter of time before her rapping career takes off
too.
ELLIA GREEN: The G Train or Green machine are just a few of my names, Rugby 7s
that's my main game, I play on the wing cos I like to run fast, used to be on the track but
that's in my past. Yo.
But you might be wondering, what is Rugby Sevens? Well, it's basically a quicker version
of Rugby Union. The key stuff is the same, like only being able to throw sideways or
backwards, and tries are still worth 6 points.
But regular games are a lot shorter; just 14 minutes instead of 80, and instead of it being
15 a-side, teams are just 7 a-side on the same size pitch. That means players have way
more room to move, which means a lot more tries.
For example, during the 2015 Rugby Union World Cup tries were scored on average every
28 minutes. But in the Rugby Sevens season that same year, it was once every 3 minutes!
©ABC 2016
Now that Ellia and the gang are Rugby Sevens world champs there's still one huge
challenge left for them in 2016, winning Olympic gold. For the first time ever, Rugby
Sevens will feature at the Olympic Games and the Pearls will be hoping to etch their name
into the history books once again.
ELLIA GREEN: I think it's just a lifelong dream for a lot of us. It's been my dream since I
was five years old I think, and I've had pictures of Olympians on my wall in my mum’s
home in Melbourne, just thinking about Rio is thinking about a life accomplishment.
CLOSER
And that wraps us up for another episode. But please head to our website straight after
this to let Rookie Reporter Maya know what questions you'd like her to ask the pollies she
meets out on the trail. And tune in next week to see how she goes in her first assignment political reporter boot camp! See you then!
©ABC 2016